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MSF Hospital Bombed in Sudan

NEW YORK/PARIS—During an aerial attack on a Sudanese village, Sudan’s air force bombed and partially destroyed a hospital run by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the war-torn South Kordofan region Monday, depriving civilians of critical medical care, the organization said today.

As bombs struck the village of Farandalla on June 16, two hit the MSF hospital there. Five people were wounded in the village and one MSF staff member was injured at the hospital. MSF medical teams treated the wounded and organized the transfer of three severely injured patients to another hospital.

“We are shocked that a medical facility can be bombed,” said MSF Head of Mission Brian Moller. “We had previously communicated the hospital’s position to the authorities in Khartoum.”

Hospital staff evacuated the patients in the surroundings at the time of the attack. Medical workers returned to treat the people wounded in the attack on the village.

MSF calls for the respect of patients, staff, and medical facilities in South Kordofan. Several other medical facilities in South Kordofan have been bombed in recent weeks.

The bombs destroyed the emergency room, a dressing room, the pharmacy, and the hospital kitchen. “Damage to the Farandalla hospital is significant, but MSF will continue to work there,” Moller said.

The MSF facility, with both outpatient and inpatient wards, began operating in 2012. Nearly 65,000 consultations have been carried out since then, along with close to 2,300 admissions. MSF is one of the few health care providers in South Kordofan. In addition to running the Farandalla facility, MSF supports five health centers in the area.